The Bishops of the Church of Ireland are to meet in Dublin this week to elect the new Primate of All Ireland after Lord Robin Eames retired from the post on December 31.
The new primate will be selected from among 11 men on Wednesday.
Lord Eames retired at the end of 2006 after 20 years as spiritual leader of the Church of Ireland.
In his final sermon delivered at St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh, Dr Eames called on unionists and nationalists to grasp the future and find new ways of living together in Northern Ireland.
"We cannot pass on to a new generation the hatreds and divisions of the past," he said.
"We have got to create a future under God where young people have real pride in their community.
"The Church, politicians and all of us leading ordinary lives must grasp the opportunities for reaching that shared future which now present themselves.
"I welcome the debates within the Protestant and unionist community on a way forward.
Lord Eames will now head an international peace team to Korea.
The House of Bishops will meet in private session to make its choice with the Archbishop of Dublin, the Rt Rev John Neill - the favourite to take up the post.
The 61-year-old is the second highest ranking member of the Church and by tradition has a right of first refusal.
